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Why don’t “they” make a 2240 PCP pistol?

On Wednesday, blog reader John said that he would really like to see a Crosman 2240 PCP pistol. I thought that I would address that as my topic for the weekend.

The Crosman 2240 pistol is an inexpensive CO2 pistol that sells for under $60. It’s a single-shot bolt action and has a deserved reputation for being both accurate and a wonderful value. That’s the gun John wants to see made into a precharged pneumatic (PCP).

I don’t know much about John. In fact, we have several readers named John, so I don’t want to make any assumptions about who wrote the question. But whoever he is, the first thing I have to say is that the 2240 PCP pistol already does exist. It’s called the Crosman Silhouette PCP air pistol, and, as of this date, it sells for $367.50.

{Sound of a needle being painfully scratched across a vinyl record!}

Okay, that was not what John wanted. He wanted a $60 pistol converted into an inexpensive PCP, so he could enjoy the benefits of the 2240 but at the higher power level of a PCP. I get that. That’s the kind of stuff that I think about all the time. So — why don’t “they” do it?

Some history
I was actually present when a similar decision was made to convert a very popular high-value CO2 rifle — the Crosman 2260 — into a PCP: the Benjamin Discovery. In fact I wasn’t just present, I was part of the development team, which gave me a unique insight into what a company goes through to do something like this.

The 2260 was selected to be the starting point for what was to become the Discovery because we wanted to keep the price as low as possible. But some changes had to be made. Where a hobbyist working out of his home might just seal the 2260′s CO2 reservoir better to hold air and call it finished, Crosman couldn’t do the same thing. They’re a manufacturer who has to build in a margin of safety into each of their products so that they present no danger to the user, even when improperly operated.

You might say to yourself that you’re never going to over-pressurize the gun you’re building, so the CO2 reservoir that’s rated to 1,000 psi is good enough, but Crosman can’t do that. They have to figure there will be a certain percentage of people who will either make mistakes with the rifle or purposely over-pressurize it in the mistaken belief that they can get more velocity from it. It happens all the time and all of you know it.

When it came time to select the tubing for the PCP reservoir, they could not go with what they used on the 2260. Not only is it not rated to operate at the pressures of the Discovery (2,000 psi instead of 900 psi), it’s also finished more coarsely. Because the CO2 molecule is very large, o-rings will still seal the reservoir even when the metal is a little rough. But it won’t seal in air, which is vastly thinner. They needed a stronger reservoir tube that also had a better finish; plus when they cut o-ring seats, they had to cut them with smoother surfaces.

The stronger tube had to either be thicker steel or it had to be made from a stronger alloy. In the end, it was both because Crosman figured that some people would forget that the Discovery should only be filled to 2,000 psi…and would fill it to 3,000 psi. In a courtroom, a plaintiff’s attourney could make a strong case that such behavior is normal when most of the world’s PCPs are filled to 3,000 psi.

But if the tubing is thicker, it has a smaller internal volume — we all know that. So, not only did they have to make the tube stronger and from better material, it also had to be longer to hold as much air as possible since they were trying to get a reasonable number of shots out of the gun at a relatively low air pressure (for a PCP).

Instead of a length of reservoir tubing costing them $2, they had to use a length of tube costing $28. That’s an increase of 14 times the material cost! These numbers are not the real ones, but they’re representative of the differential in the cost of parts for the PCP gun over the CO2 gun. And all of this is just material cost — no machining or handling has been costed yet.

The difference between CO2 and high-pressure air
Containing CO2 under pressure is one level of difficulty. Containing air under pressure is a different and much higher level of difficulty. Imagine how difficult it is for cowboys to keep cattle inside a corral. Now, replace the cattle with cockroaches and put them in the same corral. Think it might be harder to keep all of them inside? You bet your paycheck it is!

Crosman was a company that has a long history of making CO2 guns. Heck, they ARE the history of CO2 guns! Now, they have to learn how to contain high-pressure air, which is totally different. They knew it and they thought about it — a LOT. You can build one of anything if you have the skill and the inclination. Making a thousand of them, however, can kill you — or put you out of business. Crosman made more than 4,000 Discoveries the first year they were offered. They had to be ready for that, which means they had to find ways to assemble these high-pressure air containers without any of them leaking.

I used to build PCP airguns at AirForce. Every step of the assembly process was specified, and there were tests at each point in the process. We didn’t make a thousand of anything that then had to be remade or — worse yet — thrown away!

As long as we’re making it…
…we might as well make it right. Ever say that to yourself in the middle of a project? Of course you have — everyone has. So did the Crosman engineering team. As long as we’re making this gun that holds thin air under high pressure, we might as well make it last a long time.

What’s the No. 1 enemy of pressurized air?

Bad seals.

And, what is the No. 1 enemy of seals — assuming everything has been designed correctly?

Dirt.

It was no surprise that the engineering team decided to put an air filter on the intake side of the reservoir of the gun. Air is thin, so the filter had to filter thin things. As in millionths of an inch.

Don’t worry your pretty head — such things as micron filters are available — at a price.

Now, a hobby builder is far less likely to include such a thing in his gun. Indeed, a great many very expensive PCPs do not have an intake air filter. But that’s how Crosman works. You can’t change that, so it has to be factored into everything they do.

Back to the premise
Okay, I’ve gotten far afield in my report. If I were to continue talking about developing production PCPs, I would have to go much farther because there are a great many little things that have to be done to create such a gun. But I’ve said enough. Let’s return to the original question.

What can’t “they” make a 2240 PCP? Well, they can. When Crosman does it, it’s called the Silhouette PCP air pistol. You may think they’ve loaded that model with a lot of costly and unnecessary things; but given who they are and how they operate, most of the features ARE necessary.

Could a more austere 2240 PCP pistol, be produced? Without question. But don’t look for Crosman to do it. Even if they were convinced to try; with all the extra engineering I mentioned and alluded to, it’s likely that the bare bones gun they produce would still cost you at least $200.

And here’s where John comes in. John says if it’s going to cost $200, a pistol “ought” to have an accurate barrel. We all know what that means — Lothar Walther. So, he wants them to spend an additional $41 for a 10-inch barrel that they’ll have to charge an extra $79 to their largest distributors. You’ll be paying an additional $121 to get one — over and above the cost of the pistol. The popular reasoning is that we have to have that Lothar Walther name if we’re going to be asked to pay more than a certain amount for an airgun.

You might look at the Daisy Avanti 717 and 747 pistols and see only a $40 difference from the addition of the Lothar Walther barrel on the more expensive gun. Yes, there are less expensive Lothar Walther barrels, but the design of the 2240 does not support their use. The Daisy guns can use a soda-straw barrel (thin-walled), which is cheaper to manufacture, but the 2240 barrel is not supported in the same way and has to be thicker.

Having said that, can it still be done? Can John’s dream of a low-cost, high-quality PCP air pistol be realized? I believe it can — just not within the manufacturing model of Crosman or another airgun manufacturer of equal capability.

I think the entire manufacturing paradigm has to be changed to achieve what John wants.

Motorola changed their corporate paradigm several decades ago and reduced the time from order to shipping for a pocket pager from 6 months to 15 minutes. It can be done.

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55 thoughts on “Why don’t “they” make a 2240 PCP pistol?”

I had never noticed the 2240 until now, when I saw this report. It’s nowhere near 10-meter accurate, so as you’re saying, the barrel would need to change for much better accuracy. However, I do like the look of it. It sort looks like it could be a good at-home practice gun for something like a Ruger Mk II or III. But I’d much prefer better accuracy.

“They” don’t, but “us” do
Here 1377 and (less) 22xx models are the most popular platforms for conversion into PCPs. Common set of changes are – off-centered compressed air cylinder, steel breech, more powerful striker spring and a new barrel (Crosman barrels on 1377 are not very good, but 22xx are quite all right, especially 2300 series). It can be done in less than $150, turning cheap pistol into a high money-to-quality PCP carbine.

You know, I wonder if the barrels for the 1377′s have changed over the past several decades. Some 30+ years ago, when I was actively competing with air-pistol, I use to be able to hold the 9-ring at 10 meters with a 1377. That left a lasting impression with me that they are very accurate, and thus have decent barrels. I don’t know if they are still as accurate as they once were. Maybe not.

I’ve often thought that the Crosman Ratcatcher would make a nice PCP as it’s just the 2240 in carbine form, so allowing to rate at 12 ft/lb in the UK. As it stands in it’s co2 form it happily reaches 6 ft/lb in pistol and about 9 ft/lb with the longer barrel in carbine form, though that’s not really the issue is it?.

It being winter now i don’t use my co2 air guns, so wouldn’t it be just tickerty-boo if they were PCP so i could use them all year round. They may not be as accurate as the models with the more expensive models with the Lothar Walther barrels but as the stand they are just perfect for pest control at shorter ranges and general plinking, which is what a lot of owners of the 2240 and Ratcatcher are quite happy to use them for.

You pay for what you get, as i have noticed with my air gun collection. Some cost a lot of money and are the bee’s knees to use, others cost not so much and though they are not as good they still are fun. But I’m wandering away from the point of the blog. To make a cheap, quality controlled PCP 2044 would i think change the pistol to much, so it wouldn’t really be a 2240 any more as it would most likely change in dimension. Its best left to the home hobbyist and the the suppliers of after market products i reckon, and there are a hell of a lot of both of those around is there not.

I have been using a HiPac for about two years on my 2240. I have found it to be a great option to CO2. I was getting about 15 shots per fill to 2700psi with the red spring but am currently getting 30 shots filling to about 2900psi. This is all at 10M so velocity consistency is not much of an issue. (Not sure what changed in the 15 to 30 but I have the gun apart often to tweak the trigger, etc.)

The gun has a 10″ barrel. It ought to have a spring adjuster but have not felt the need enough so far. I made a trigger shoe from some PVC pipe. New grips, steel breech. Great for practicing Bullseye (especially with the shortage of .22LR)!

I use the Daisy wad cutter pellets — cheapest available and more than good-enough.

Only problem with the HiPac was I was using the wrong adapter for a while — the Parkers will work but not well!

One other point — using the HiPac the 2240 tube is, as always, completly unpressurized. Even with the CO2 cartridge, there is no pressure in the tube! The HiPac operates just like a huge CO2 cartridge and contains all the pressure — the gun is only subjected to high pressure in the valve. I have been using the standard valve with the original seal and have had no problems at all. If you fingure out the force on the valve, it is only a few pounds more than with CO2 because of the small diameter of the connection.

How about the Marauder pistol and 1720? They’re PCP based on the 2240 plateform aren’t they?
Personnaly I think it’s an insult to my 1701P Silhouette to be called a 2240, apart from the grips there’s not much else apart from the grips that’s comparable between the 2… which is probably why it doesn’t cost near the same price as the 2240.

I’ve heard some guys are having problems with the hipac people, being rude and not answering emails.
I’m not sure I would want to pressurize that stock 2240 tube that much. I know some are succesful with it but I’d rather get the 1701 or for you lucky US citizen a Marauder and be safe with it.

The real question I can see is why don’t the make a 2201P? Take the 1701P and put a .22 barrel on it. I’d probably end up buying one too and turn it into a mini carbine like I did with my 1701P.

As an engineer, I love these kind of articles BB. I love getting “under the hood” of the deisgn, development, and manufacturing of a product. (especially when it is a product that I enjoy so much)
Thank You for sharing your past and the insight you’ve gained, as well as explaining to your reading audience all that goes behind the creation of a mass-marketed product. Kudos!

Food for thought: Some motorcycles have carried their oil in the frame rather than in a separate tank wasting space. I realize the volume available in a typical pistol would be small, but I wonder if the same thing couldn’t be done for a more realistic looking PCP pistol?

Howdy danger d, know squat about airgunin’. Know squat +2 about sleds. Tried the oil in frame trick 30+ years ago on a snortster. Figured out real quick, with all the things attached/welded/tapped into + flex of a frame, only trailer queens & foo foo OCC’s (scooter versions of the Weinermobile) that were built ta be looked at, not ridden, used the oil in the frame setup. Mr. B.B., the lovely & talented Ms. Edith & the gang, Thanx ya’ll, have a great weekend & shoot/ride safe.
Beaz

Spherical would seem to be the strongest, followed by cylindrical… But when you get to a rectangular (as in a grip frame), the flat sides will tend to flex out/in, and the heaviest stress is likely to be any corners..

Continuing from yesterday…. I live out west and may one day again take up shooting elk. Always used to do it with a bow, but I thought bp might be a fun hunt. That’s why I was thinking about a .54 or a .58 cal. That and I used to have a .54 Hawken that I liked. I noticed the shorter drop at the heal for bigger calibers, so thanks for confirming that suspicion and telling me why that’s done. The shorter drop will only help me too, being wide shouldered and short necked. I’m thinking I may need more cast off than average because of my blocky build. I don’t shoot shotguns, so is there any other way you know of to help new determine this cast off? Another requirement for me is double set triggers. My old Hawken had them and I really miss them…

/Dave,
I thought you might be out west — as long as you know what you are getting into with the bigger calibers. If I lived out west, I’d probably build a Hawken with a shotgun buttplate and simple trigger in .62 cal. for hunting, and a pea-shooter for matches and plinking :)!

Your build sounds like mine, so the run of the mill Lancaster and York stock profiles may be good enough fit for hunting rifle. If you look under “stock patterns” at the Knob Mountain MLing link I gave you, you can see dimensions, etc. Also Track of the Wolf has dimensions on their pre-carved stocks. Helps visualize.

Set triggers are no problem, pretty common. The Davis double set triggers are the standard, but I think I like the L&R 1700 and 1800 designs better (they fit the same plate inlets) for feel, looks and functionality.

Hm, I’ve always wondered what people were thinking in venturing out into the wilderness with a gun that could only fire once with a protracted loading process. What happens if you don’t get a kill shot and your prey charges you? Kit Carson was hunting once, and at the discharge of his gun, two grizzlies appeared out of nowhere and charged him full speed. He discarded the gun and escaped up a tree.

In continuing from yesterday (in answer to your after-midnight reply), I think the ultimate judge of quality is the market. The government has a stake in that only to keep all their industries from being tarred with the same brush when one gets a bad reputation.

I used to work in a factory that produced Melamine. It was used in the production of gun stocks, airplane instrument panels, ski boots, and dishes. It never occurred to me that anyone would try to use it to adulterate food.

I hadn’t heard about the Melamine milk episode. I did hear about the use of Melamine in Chinese-produced cat food. It would show a false increase in protein content. A number of cats were poisoned by this food in the US and it resulted in government action in China. I would like to think the people responsible for this were rewarded with a bullet in the back of the head.

Cat and dog treats made in China were found to be made with spoiled chicken. I don’t know if any deaths resulted from that. I will no longer buy any dog or cat food or treats made in China. Most of it is probably good, I just don’t want to take a chance.

All governments have an obligation to protect their citizens from food poisoning. I’m not so sure about protecting the world from cheesy air guns. You get what you pay for.

Food producers will probably always need some degree of government oversight. I don’t see what that has to do with air gun quality control. An air gun would have to be really, really bad to be a threat to its user’s life. Maybe the closest case would be the infamous Chinese “finger eaters”.

Maybe in a Communist country, there could be a “Department of Quality Control” to oversee the production of manufactured goods, but I don’t think that is the case. Quality might improve if slip-ups resulted in a prison sentence. I don’t think it should ever get to that stage.

Brand names have a big influence on the market, but buyers need to do enough research to know what they are getting. And the people who own those brands need to keep a close eye on quality control if they are interested in preserving their good name.

I wouldn’t put too much trust in what companies will do without some kind of oversight. You can take a look at Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle from the turn of the 20th century which motivated Theodore Roosevelt to regulate the meat industry. What is reported in that book is beyond belief and will make you a vegetarian.

Tom,
Another great article with a lot of meat in it! Judging by many of the comments it has proved its point. You never know what people are going to do with the product you deliver. You’d better protect yourself or prepare to pay out million dollar lawsuits (or both).
-Chuckj

I believe that a affordable PCP pistol is a great idea, however converting a 2240 CO2 airgun to PCP is an expensive and time consuming task, as the 2240 is a excellent and affordable CO2 pistol. Personally I own two and they work fine the way they are! Maybe trigger upgrades and modifying the CO2 operation is feasible. However I will not change anything on them. A affordable $60-$150 PCP might exist somewhere, PCP by nature is a serious air gunner option as most PCP air guns range about $350+ as they are more complicated and time consuming to build! I own a Marauder .25 which I bought through Pyramyd Air and it is excellent but not inexpensive to shoot, maintain or fill initially. I spent more money on the accessories Scuba tank, Fill pump, Scope, and magazines. My point is that a 2240 is usually bought by a common person that wants to have fun and doesn’t wish to spend big bucks on air guns ie Parents teaching kids to shoot, someone with rats, or a recreational shooter. I agree with just buying an existing PCP pistol which is already safe, but not modifying a 2240 which is perfect the way it is!

Yeah, I am the John you wrote this for. I know there are Things like the silhouette and woods walker. What I was thinking was a small pcp pistol that would fit in a holster that could be packed along when deer hunting. Squirrels are kind of like a deer’s early alert system so hunters usually want to take out the local squirrels as quietly as possible which means blasting them with your shotgun or deer rifle is not recommended since everybody for 5 miles around will know what you are doing. Plus nobody wants to lug a spare rifle around when you already have enough weight with cammo, possibly a portable deer stand… whatever. So my idea was simply take a 2240, set pcp valves in it and some nice heavy seals make it air tight and have something that might give me 7-10 good shots to deal with the Squirrel Early Warning System (SEAS for short). I figured a regular crosman trigger, barrel and steel breech would do just fine. At this time I am working on setting something like that up. I don’t know how it will work, but I will keep you informed.

MY 2240 will give me some 40-45 good strong shots. But it is not a quiet gun. I just looked and Pyramydair says it is 3-Medium on the loudness, same as the 1322, also both say 460f/s. I have both and the 2240 is alot louder. Since CO2 does not work as good in the cold, I would get a 1377 or 1322 to carry with you. Yes on the metal breech. If you have room, the stock for either the 2240 or 1322 really helps in accuracy.

I found replacing that end cap on the back of the body with a stock adapter with power adjuster and sticking a Tipman98 MP5 stock on the end of the gun I get a collapsing stock which makes it an excellent little carbine or pistol. I found that set up is far sturdier than the 1399 stock which tends to wobble. Plus with the power adjuster I get just a bit more bang for my buck. Also a nice set of wood target grips helped quite a bit too. RB Grips makes a very nice set. Not that pricy either.

Thanks for weighing in on this discussion. I hope I didn’t offend you in the report — that was not my intention.

I hear such comments a lot and I like to address what I know about them from time to time, just to shed some light on why the world works the way it does. It doesn’t mean that I know everything, either.

No, I am not offended. It’s always nice to know people think about the need for a more compact gun and how they figure out what needs to be done. I hope at some point I get an opportunity to tell you about my 2240 turned pcp. I hope it works. If not I’ll try again and again until I get it working. I can be a bit stubborn at times.

There is a new rim-fire round coming out… Apparently the .17 Hornady Magnum Rim-fire (.17HMR) isn’t fast enough… Winchester is releasing the “.17 Winchester Super Magnum” rated at 3000fps with a 20gr bullet, and 2600fps with a 25gr bullet.

The report is touting 200yard effectiveness… The cartridge case is apparently inspired by — wait for it — propellant based NAIL GUNS (the type used for concrete and stone, not carpentry) — necked down to .17

Me, too, it was a Daisy model 94, I think. It was the Red Ryder variant that was produced for a few years in the late 1950′s after the name “Red Ryder” was considered too old-fashioned, but before it became a cult classic.

This gun was a Red Ryder in all but name. It came with a plastic stock.

I completely wore mine out. The idea that it could be repaired or renewed with new parts did not occur to me. It was eventually thrown away.

If you haven’t checked out the link in Vince’s post, you should. Ted Nugent declares the Red Ryder to be the most important gun in US history. Based on the fact that tens of millions of Americans for generations had the Red Ryder as their first gun.

Yesterday I worked at a gun show. Of course, I had to buy something! I bought a sister gun to mine, a Daisy Model 25 pump. This gun was described to me by the seller as a “wall hanger”. I bought it knowing it didn’t work. But I also bought it knowing (from this blog) that it could be put back in working condition for very little expense. So now I have a project.

I submitted a request to Daisy for an exploded diagram and a parts list. I had done this for my 880 rebuild project and they are very helpful. To my complete amazement, an 880 can be purchased as INDIVIDUAL PARTS for a price no higher than the complete gun. I know of nothing else that holds true for.

My gun has a plastic stock and cocking handle. I haven’t researched the serial number, but was told it was from the 1960′s. The stock is warped from being stored standing up in hot weather, or from having something heavy piled atop it.

Lacking a diagram, of course I took it apart anyway. The internals were covered with a heavy layer of crud. I did not disassemble the piston and air cylinder.

The shot tube bb magazine still held bb’s. One was jammed in the breech. I popped it out from behind. The bore still looked in good shape.

This gun has a stout cocking spring, but the sear will not engage at the end of the stroke. I took out the trigger assembly, and found the metal surfaces inside severely worn. An “L” shaped wire spring came out, I don’t know where it goes.

I figure on replacing the shot tube (because the new ones are supposed to be easier to thread back in), the trigger group, all screws and nuts, and pins in the cocking link that are heavily worn. I may replace the original plastic stock and “Tootsie Roll” with new wooden ones, just to get rid of the bend. Maybe I will just leave the originals.

Anyway, I have a fun project ahead. Even if I can’t fix it, I’ll get my money worth’s of entertainment out of it.

Hi BB, I have a new gun idea for Crosman. A 1322/77 with a wooden rifle stock and 2260 trigger the 1322 main tube in two lenghts, one normal and one dubble lenght for more power.
The 392 is good but outdated with the lack of scopemounting rails and the brass barrel is touching the tube all the way. Not good for accuracy in my opinion.
The new rifle should look like a 2260 or disco with a parted forgrip. Name it 3022/3177.

No, I mean with all the 13xx and 22xx parts, breech, barrels, trigger and that other stuff. This way you could customise your own pumper. It would even be possible to make a 25 cal pump rifle, and almost anything else. I just think it would sell if the price is right.

The 2240 had me at the price tag with the performance glowingly described by Derrick. Wanting more out of this platform is reminiscent to me out of forcing firearms performance into an airgun package. There’s something at cross-purposes, especially with the lovely price. The list of engineering difficulties is certainly convincing. It is powerfully summed up by the T’Pau of Vulcan when Kirk is fighting Spock who is in the grip of a sexual frenzy called the Par Fan.

McCoy: He (Kirk) can’t function here (Vulcan). The air is too thin.
T’Pau: The air is the air. What can be done?

I once heard a professor of engineering describe the general development process of a product. He said a prototype is built and then broken and then rebuilt and subjected to a higher set of standards and on and on… You can start to see what the government has got itself into with the F-35.

Planet of the Apes has arrived! Orangutans like ipads and cartoons and the difference between them and humans has become well-nigh invisible.

I saw my Mauser yesterday! It has successfully escaped the clutches of the demon, and arrived in my my gunstore. But the journey did not that end there. A tall fellow with a high and tight haircut and a holstered sidearm looked at me as upon a scene of desolation and barked, “Who are you? What do you want?” This is the 5th gun that I’ve transferred through these folks! They really do not disappoint. I haven’t gotten used to the open carry yet, and I can’t help thinking of the scene in Dirty Harry where the psychopath comes up to the counter of a liquor store with a bottle. He asks the old clerk if he has a gun. The old guy points a handgun at him and says, “That’s right. I got tired of getting robbed and I sent the last couple out on platters.” Then smiling broadly he goes, “Pow pow.” The psycho says, in his odd quasi-foreign accent, “Please, I scare easy,” with hands raised. And then, in a lightning movement, he grabs the bottle and whamo, strikes to the side of the head. Then, he’s over the counter, straddling the clerk as he grabs cash and the gun while the clerk shouts, “You jerk. You jerk.” There are advantages to concealment.

I also got a look at the white-hot center of the gun business. There was an enormous waiting list for the shooting range, and half of the guns and ammo were gone. And in the midst of it, the staff were barking orders and rushing back and forth like they were mobilizing for Iwo Jima, and whose to say that they weren’t enjoying themselves a little bit. Their revenue at the end of the day has got to make them smile. Never in my life have I seen a sustained shortage of a product in demand like this. Maybe when I was young and they were out of the Spider Man action figure that I wanted… Anyway, as far as I’m concerned, the gun ban has started. Midway USA has not been accepting backorders for just about anything, and without ammo, you won’t be shooting. I don’t expect to shoot my Mauser for years.

Anyway, the chaos around me faded away in comparison to the sight of my rifle. This is the rifle of the Forgotten Soldier and part of the otherwordly epic environment of the Eastern Front! I can’t imagine what it went through! I tried to be clever in my purchase of this one. What I originally wanted was a Russian capture Mauser, but these are getting hard to find and pricey. But what should I find but something called a k98/48 from Yugoslavia. I had shied away from the Yugoslavian Mausers as derivative and also because they are slightly different. Admittedly, they tend to be in excellent and unused condition. However, the 48 has a slightly shorter action, and I understand that the Yugoslavs did not have the techniques of hardening steel used by the Krupp factories in Germany, so they had to overbuild the rifles to compensate. It’s not anything that affects the safety, but still. Anyway, the 98/48s are actual German-built Mausers that were acquired by the Yugoslavs after the war. Also, unlike the Russians who assembled their Mausers out of piles of old parts, the Yugoslavs only replaced what was necessary. The German marks were scrubbed off, but the rifles are original. And unlike the Russians who locked their rifles away for 50 years, they would inspect and clean their guns every few years. Some of them were used in the Bosnian War. So, I got a rearsenaled rifle in great shape at about half the price. I’d say I’m beginning to hold my own here. And while this rifle did not go through the great campaigns of the Eastern Front with the Russians and Germans and the Yugoslav partisans all fighting each other, and if 10 percent of what I’ve read of that campaign actually took place, the rifle has plenty of history of its own.

I’m going to evade the whole ammo shortage by buying some snap caps, and dry-firing to my heart’s content. Someone said that you really need to cycle the bolt on a German Mauser for the good of your own soul, and I plan to do that. I plan to also look up and learn the drill of the various surplus rifles I’ve got. It’s turning into quite a mini-UN here with all the major combatants of WWII. This will be another way to experience the rifles and get some conditioning in at the same time. They are all pretty hefty pieces.

In other news, I’m sure you’re all glad to hear that my new technique has transferred to the B30! True, the harder trigger and greater caliber had me flinch the first few shots down. But you could see my groups manfully crawling their way upward as I enforced the follow-through. Now, I’m better than I ever was before with the B30 and looking for even more!

Does anyone have a parts list and possibly a diagram to convert a stock Crosman 2240 into a HPA pistol? Would the current valve need to be replaced or modified in any way? What about the stock tube? Thanks